Media representation of chronic disease lags behind real-world prevalence

A study conducted by the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, sponsored by Eli Lilly and Company, has identified a significant gap between the prevalence of chronic diseases in the United States and their representation in popular media. The research examined 8,676 speaking characters across the 100 most popular TV series and 100 top-grossing films of 2023.

Findings indicate that while a vast majority of Americans live with at least one chronic condition—including 16% of young adults and 90% of older adults—many common illnesses are either entirely absent from entertainment or depicted in one-dimensional ways. For instance, less than 3% of speaking characters portrayed obesity, despite it affecting approximately 37% of the American population.

Lina Polimeni, senior vice president and chief marketing officer at Eli Lilly and Company, noted that authentic storytelling can reduce stigma and inspire earlier medical action by capturing the human realities of living with disease.